A default judgment is entered when a defendant fails to respond to a lawsuit within the time the rules allow. It is a real, enforceable judgment: it supports garnishment, liens, and asset seizure exactly like a judgment after trial. The difference is that nobody tested the merits.
Federal practice separates the process into two distinct steps under Rule 55: entry of default, which is a clerk's ministerial notation that a party failed to plead or otherwise defend, and default judgment, which is the actual money or relief award. Relief from a final judgment is governed by Rule 60(b), which sets out both the grounds and their time limits. State courts follow their own analogous rules; the structure is usually similar, the deadlines often are not.
Two steps, often collapsed in conversation
Step one is entry of default. When a defendant has failed to plead or otherwise defend and the plaintiff shows that by affidavit, the clerk enters the party's default on the docket. Nothing is owed yet. The defendant simply loses the ability to contest liability unless the default is lifted.
Step two is default judgment. Under Rule 55(b), the clerk may enter judgment only in a narrow situation — a claim for a sum certain or a sum that can be made certain by computation, against a defendant who is neither a minor nor incompetent and who has failed to appear. Everything else goes to the judge, who may hold hearings to conduct an accounting, determine damages, establish the truth of allegations by evidence, or investigate any other matter. If the defaulting party has appeared in the action, they are entitled to written notice of the application for default judgment at least seven days before the hearing.
Watch out: Default admits well-pleaded factual allegations about liability; it does not admit damages. A plaintiff still has to prove the amount, and a court can decline to award a figure that the complaint does not support. Defendants sometimes have far more room to contest the number than they realize, even after liability is settled.
How defaults happen to people who are paying attention
The stereotype is a defendant who throws the papers away. In practice, defaults more often come from a short list of ordinary failures.
- Papers were served on a registered agent whose address the company never updated
- Substituted service left documents with a relative or roommate who did not pass them along
- An insurer was notified but no defense counsel was actually assigned
- The defendant answered a demand letter and assumed that ended the matter
- The response deadline was calculated from the wrong date, or from an unofficial copy of the complaint
- A defendant moved and never updated an address with the state business registry or the court
- An amended complaint added a claim, and the deadline to respond to it was missed
Most of these trace back to service. The mechanics of who may serve, what methods count, and what proof gets filed are governed by Rule 4 in federal court, and are worth reviewing closely in our guide to service of process methods before assuming the default was properly obtained.
If a default has been entered against you
- Get the docket. Determine precisely what has happened: entry of default only, or judgment entered. Pull the return of service and the motion papers.
- Calendar every deadline. Identify the state or federal deadline for moving to set aside, and any appeal deadline that may be running in parallel.
- Move before judgment if you can. Rule 55(c) lets a court set aside an entry of default for good cause — a materially easier standard than vacating a judgment.
- Assemble the defense. Draft the answer you would have filed. Courts want to see that lifting the default would change something.
- Explain the failure honestly. A candid, documented account of what went wrong outperforms a vague claim of inadvertence.
- Address prejudice. Show that reopening will not cost the plaintiff evidence, witnesses, or an unfair delay. Offer to accept conditions such as paying costs.
- File promptly. Weeks matter. The single strongest predictor of success is how quickly the defendant moved after learning of the default.
The Rule 60(b) grounds and their limits
Once a default judgment has been entered, relief runs through Rule 60(b), which lists six grounds on which a court may relieve a party from a final judgment or order.
| Ground | Typical default scenario | Time limit |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect | Papers misrouted internally; a calendaring error | No more than one year after entry, and within a reasonable time |
| (2) Newly discovered evidence | Evidence that could not have been found earlier with reasonable diligence | No more than one year after entry |
| (3) Fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct by an opposing party | A false affidavit of service, or a concealed material fact | No more than one year after entry |
| (4) The judgment is void | No valid service, or no jurisdiction over the defendant | Within a reasonable time; courts treat void judgments strictly |
| (5) Judgment satisfied, released, or no longer equitable | The debt was already paid or the underlying basis reversed | Within a reasonable time |
| (6) Any other reason justifying relief | Extraordinary circumstances not covered above | Within a reasonable time; used sparingly |
Two features of this structure drive outcomes. First, the one-year limit on grounds (1) through (3) is an outer boundary, not an allowance — a motion filed at month eleven still has to be within a "reasonable time," and courts regularly deny motions filed well inside the year. Second, ground (4) is qualitatively different. If a judgment is void for want of proper service or jurisdiction, the court does not weigh equities in the same way; a void judgment is not entitled to stand. That is why the service analysis is often the most valuable thing a defendant can investigate first.
Rule 60 also provides that a motion under it does not affect the judgment's finality or suspend its operation. In plain terms: filing does not stop collection. Ask the court for a stay if enforcement is underway, because the plaintiff can otherwise proceed with the tools described in our guide to collecting a judgment.
The plaintiff's side of the same rule
A plaintiff seeking a default judgment should treat the process as a proof exercise rather than a formality. Judgments obtained on thin records are the easiest to reopen and the hardest to collect, because a defendant who later challenges the judgment can attack both service and damages. Build the file: a clean return of service, an affidavit establishing the sum with supporting documents, and confirmation of the defendant's non-military status where a statute requires it.
Practical step: Before moving for default judgment, re-verify the defendant's address and check whether they are on active military duty. Federal protections for servicemembers require an affidavit on that point in many courts, and a defective one is an invitation to have the judgment reopened months later, after collection efforts have already been spent.
General information on federal court procedures and locating dockets is available at uscourts.gov. Where the underlying claim is a consumer debt, default judgments are common enough that the surrounding conduct rules matter — see our guide to debt collection rights under the FDCPA.
Quick answers
Is a default judgment easier to overturn than a trial verdict?
Somewhat, because courts express a general preference for deciding cases on the merits, and Rule 55(c) applies a lenient "good cause" standard to an entry of default. Once a judgment has been entered, though, the standard tightens considerably and Rule 60(b) controls. Speed is what separates the two situations more than anything else.
What is a meritorious defense, and do I need one?
It is a defense that, if proven, would change the outcome — not merely a denial. Courts commonly weigh three factors: whether the default was willful, whether the plaintiff would be prejudiced by reopening, and whether the defendant has a meritorious defense. A motion that explains the delay but offers no defense usually fails on the third factor.
Can a default judgment be entered for more than the complaint asked for?
Generally no. A default judgment must not differ in kind from, or exceed in amount, what was demanded in the pleadings. That constraint gives defendants a concrete check to make: compare the judgment amount against the relief the complaint actually requested, including whether attorney fees and interest were pleaded.
Does filing a motion to vacate stop garnishment?
Not automatically. Rule 60(c) states that the motion does not affect the judgment's finality or suspend its operation, and state rules commonly say the same. If wages or accounts are being seized, ask for a stay of enforcement in the same filing, and be prepared to address why a bond or other security is or is not appropriate.
What if I only learned about the case when my bank account was frozen?
That is a common way defective service surfaces. Get the file immediately, examine the return of service against where you actually lived or worked at the time, and move quickly — arguing the judgment is void under Rule 60(b)(4) if service was never valid. The broader case sequence you missed is outlined in our overview of the life of a civil lawsuit.
Where this leaves you
If you have been served, respond by the deadline even if the claim looks wrong. An answer costs far less than a motion to vacate, and it preserves every defense that silence forfeits. If a default has already been entered, act in days rather than months, and attack service first if there is any question about it.
If you hold a default judgment, protect it by building a complete record now rather than defending a thin one later. Either way, the next phase is enforcement, and the tools and limits there are set out in our guide to judgment collection and across the Courts & Justice pathway.